Outsourcing
/ Made In India |
Other works from the MADE IN INDIA series | |||||||
In 2007 Henrik Schrat was awarded a UNESCO Aschberg grant,
and he took up a residency at Sanskriti Kendra in Delhi, India. The piece is called 'Oursurcing', and is a picture story
about an artist, coming to India, and looking for an artisan to cooperate
with
India as global boom country - software and service industries
- on one hand and the still strong significance of manual labour on
the other starts the context of Schrats project. The results of the cooperation are an intriguing mixture
of cultural flavours, and as objects themselves they represent the whole
context they emerged from. Manual labour versus creative labour, different
buying power and life standard a producing a vibrant field they are
placed in. On the other hand for Schrat the project is part of his contemporary art practice, and a continuation of his interest in economy. He enacts on a personal, one - two - one level, what corporations do on large scale: Outsourcing. Being aware of all the connotations, rather than avoiding the context, he goes into it and seems to say: let us be fascinated by the otherness, let us all benefit in a cultural and economic way, but always lets deal on eye level with each other, that's the only way to go with all the questions in this context. For a European understanding they are cool and stylish
objects with the full aura of the original crafts object, made in a
century old tradition in south India. To fill one of the slowest possible,
ultra conservative techniques - wood inlay pictures - with a comic style
and contemporary art content, gives the objects a unique twist. The
special finish of the pieces lets the wood look sometimes, as if it
would be printed plastics: this play between artificial and authentic
tops the feeling, which the objects emanate.
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Outsourcing ist das
Ergebnis der Kooperation. Es besteht aus 92 Teilen (130 x 130 cm zusammen.
Es ist eine sich selbst thematisierendes Objekt über einen europäischen
Künstler, der einen Kunsthandwerker in Indien sucht. Auf persönlicher
Ebene wird 'Outsourcing' nachvollzogen mit allen Schwierigkeiten und
Möglichkeiten und unlösbaren Differenzen. |
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